James was standing at the door with the others behind him looking at the scattered money . Alaric looked at their shocked expression and laughed.

" Don't just stand there help me pick the money," she said as he took the ones a hundred dollars bill from his lap and stood up.

The others entered his room and started to pick them up.

" Al seriously what did you do to her , I saw Marks on her neck," Bethany said seriously remembering how she had run past her as though she was being chased.

Everyone looked at him their eyes judging him. Alaric chuckled as he continued to pick the money and brought one to his nose and inhaled before looking at them with a bright smile.

" It's called customer privacy," he said.

" Does this happen a lot?" Sharon asked.

" No," Bethany said, " it only happens to him."

She breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Alaric weirdly. Who would be laughing at a situation like this.

They could all hear snippets of what of what was going on inside the room.

Alaric stood up and went to open the balcony door after they had finished picking the money to air out the room.

" It should be fifteen thousand," he said as they gave the money to count.

" You earned that much in one hour?" Sharon asked.

" Yes, she's young so she paid a little bit," Alaric said nonchalantly as he started looked for a vest in the closet.

" That's little!" She shouted.

" Yap , last week he earned two hundred thousand," Bethany said her voice proud.

Alaric shook his head in amusement at her tone and took a black pullover and put it on instead.

" Ooh lord in just a few hours," Sharon said her voice full of disbelief

" It's fifteen thousand," James said as he recorded it down.

" It's five thousand the rest is tips, " Bethany said and James nodded recording it.

He was still getting used to the operations of the brothel and the fact that they were moving was also an added factor.

"I posted a help wanted for an awakened security guard and I got a response," Alaric said to the other as they filled out of his room, " they should be arriving in an hour or so."

...

Kael run towards the closing dungeon entrance his heart racing out of his chest as it shrank faster than he could run. He didn't want to know what happens in closed dungeon.

Before it could fully close, kael tingers brushed against him and he stumbled out falling onto the ground. He laughed happily.

" I made it," he said as he stood up looking for his teammates. He was surprised to see them already standing on the transport car fully packed , gears and everything loaded up.

" Uh.. Guys," he asked confused after stambling to where the car was, he just wanted to rest at that moment.

Johan the team leader looked at him his eyes cold. He didn't look happy to see him.

Seraph the team healer, crossed her arms biting her lips while looking down as though not looking at him will help the problem disappeared.

Rudd, the shield barer avoided his eyes. Kael had pulled him out of a trolls grip when the others had run just two weeks before and he hadn't even received a thanks for that.

Even though he was slow he could already guess that something was very wrong.

"Why.. why are you packed?" He asked his breath ragged as he tried to regulate it, " I thought.. I thought we were going to regroup."

Johan finally stepped towards him and stood a distance away from him looking at him coldly. Kael was surprised he had never been looked at like that. He'd just seen that look when something bad was about to happen.

His heart sank as he started to see things differently. Something was wrong very wrong.

" Kael," Johan said,his voice flat," we're done."

He thought he miss heard or it might have been a joke.

"... Done with the job?"

" Done with you."

Kael felt the words more than heard them, it was a literal punch in the guts moment and he didn't know how to even process it.

" What? Why?" His voice started to get shaky as the reality of the situation started to process itself.

Johan didn't even hesitate but snorted coldly.

" You froze in the dungeon today. You hesitated again. Seraph almost died because you couldn't move."

Kael blinked at the absurd excuse for kicking him out and said," I didn't freeze, it was the boss ...it used a fear sigil..I was disoriented just.."

" And we handled it," Johan snapped his voice strained," you didn't. "

Seraph flinched at his voice and looked at kael with pity but she didn't try to help.

Kael took a shaky step forward his body trembling his voice desperate," I can do better. I just need.... "

" No," Johan cut him off forcefully and then added," no more chances you are an awakener who cannot be trusted in battle. That makes you dead weight."

Kael swallowed the lump in his throat painful, after all he had done for them this is all he gets. A kick in the guts.

" So that's it? After three fucking years?" He could feel anger bubbling up but he was too exhausted to even try anything.

Johan nodded nonchalantly and took his worn out gear bag that had fallen to the ground and turned to leave.

" We are not taking you with us," he said throwing the bag that had been with him from the moment he joined the team into the car. He looked on too tired to even move.

" You took my gear?" He whispered mainly to himself in disbelief .

Rudd finally spoke up his voice awkward," it's not person kael, the gear belongs to activate team members."

After hearing that he felt his chest crack completely into pieces. He'd really wasted a lot on this ungrateful bastards.

" So what am I supposed to do," he said quietly looking up at the clear blue sky. The sky couldn't look more beautiful.

Johan shrugged his shoulders as he opened the car door Like Kael was now a complete stranger to him

" Figure it out yourself. You're an awakener. You'll survive." He'll survive, kael chuckled at the absurdity of the sentence when they practically took everything he had.

The car engine started.

Seraph stepped forward looking around nervously as though she was afraid someone might see her. She reached into her pouch and pressed something secretly into his hands .

" I'm sorry," she whispered her voice filled with guilt," I wanted to help you in there but Johan..."

Johan called her name inside the car. She flinched and entered the car the door slamming shut.

Kael stood there the sun burning his skin as though mocking him for his naivety as the car rumbled away disappearing out of his sight.

He looked down at the healing patch seraph had pressed in his hands and his knees buckled. He had really been abandoned with no where to go.

All the money was kept in a collective account since they trusted each other, or so he thought, and the same huge house. He had really been royaly screwed over.

" I was dead weight," Kael whispered to himself a broken laughter escaping as tears started to form. He broke into sobs alone kneeling in an empty field with nothing on him but the healing patch and the phone.

Kael walked with no direction, his boots burning from the sun and dust gathering. He was thirsty and hot but didn't even have the energy to look for something to sustain himself.

Every step he took was heavier than the other as his vision blurred occasionally from fatigue. People passed by him avoiding him like he was a plague. He could feel the exhaustion on his legs as they started to tremble.

He finally ducked under the awning of an empty cafe and collapsed onto the curb. People looked at him weirdly but he just couldn't care.

The only thing in his mind was just to find a job, anything that could sustain him even for a day.

His phone buzzed weakly. He took it out and turned it on the cracked screen lighting up. It was a notification saying he only had five percent battery.

He looked through his message and contacts but nothing with a little hope but nothing. His teammates had truly abandoned him.

He swiped through the screen afterwards looking for anything. Job posting, a mercenary update, a temp agency listing but everything required gears , credits, and reference which he no longer had.

Then an ad pop up. A bright vibrant color that he hated the most right now.

But he still clicked it.

VELVET HAVEN— Now Hiring.

Accepting Awakeners for Protection, Hospitality, and… Specialty Roles.

No experience required.

Kael frown.

A brothel ad?

Seriously?

He almost scrolled past but a line at the bottom stopped him.

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